• Journal of the Korean Home Economics Association
• /
• v.50 no.8
• /
• pp.65-77
• /
• 2012

This study aimed to investigate how mothers' Korean fluency and children's experiences in child-care centers influenced the communication ability of children from multi-cultural families. The subjects were 600 children from multi-cultural families who enrolled in child-care centers in Gyeonggi province, their mothers, and 350 teachers caring for these children. The data were collected by administrating a questionnaire and analyzed with descriptive statistics and hierarchical regressions. The results of this study were as follows. The mothers' Korean fluency, number of years children had attended child-care centers, and language guidance provided by child-care centers for children from multi-cultural families all had positive effects on children's general and oral communication ability. On the other hand, the number of years that the children had attended child-care centers had no significant effect on the children's written communication ability, but the mothers' Korean fluency and language guidance provided by child-care centers for children from multi-cultural families had positive effects on children's written communication ability. Finally, the mothers' Korean fluency moderated the effects of children's child-care experiences on their communication ability. Specifically, the more fluent the mothers' Korean, the stronger the effects of children's child-care experiences on their communication ability.

• Journal of Families and Better Life
• /
• v.29 no.6
• /
• pp.169-184
• /
• 2011

The aim of this study was to investigate whether there are differences in mother's parenting behaviors and children's playfulness and communication abilities according to the type of family and to determine the relationships among these variables. A total of 154 pairs consisting of 77 pairs of children and their mothers from multi-cultural families and 77 pairs of children and mothers from general families along with 76 teachers in charge of the children participated in this study. We found that there was a difference in the children's playfulness and communication ability according to the family type. Moreover, the relationship between the mothers' parenting behaviors and their children's playfulness and communication ability levels differed according to family type. Therefore, to understand children's playfulness and communication ability in general and multicultural families, it is necessary to consider each child's environment.

• The Korean Journal of Community Living Science
• /
• v.28 no.2
• /
• pp.217-228
• /
• 2017

This paper examined the effects of children's interests and attitudes toward mother's native culture and use of mother's native language on satisfaction of the mother-child relationship in multi-cultural families. Data from the 2012 National Survey of Multi-cultural Families demonstrate that for children aged between 9 and 12 years, their fluency and desire to speak well in the mother's native language as well as father's encouragement for using the mother's native language at home were positively associated with satisfaction of the mother-child relationship. For those aged between 13 and 18 years, mother's nationality (i.e. Southeast or South Asia) was negatively related with mother-child relationship satisfaction. Both mother's and children' communication skills, children's interests in mother's native culture, pride for mother being a foreigner, and desire to speak well in the mother's native language were positively associated with mother-child relationship satisfaction. Therefore, there is a need for foreign wives to be educated in Korean language and culture as well as opportunities for children to learn their mother's native culture and language.